Sticking Together
by danahscott
Summary: After the tournament, Sirius and Remus take Harry back to Grimmauld Place. Neither of them know what to say. (slightly canon divergent)


"What do we do, Remus?" Sirius asked, shooting a nervous glance at Harry, sitting on their couch, numbly staring at the wall. He was still in his uniform for the tournament, but it was spattered with blood and ripped half to shreds.

"He saw his friend die in front of him, and then he saw Voldemort return, and _then_ he saw James and Lily. I don't think there's much we can do, Sirius," Remus said, eyes flicking downwards. Sirius sighed and pressed his back to the wall, letting his head drop as he rubbed his eyes. It was almost two o'clock in the morning at this point. "I think… I dunno. I think we just have to be there for him. What else can we do?" Sirius dared a look at Remus, trying to ignore how _tired_ Remus looked just then, and not just from the lack of sleep. He imagined that he wasn't a better sight either.

He tore his eyes away from Remus and went over to Harry, standing in front of him. Harry looked up at Sirius, with wide, green eyes. He looked like a little kid again, and - for once - Sirius was reminded that Harry _was_ a little kid. He was only fourteen years old, he wasn't James reincarnated, he was a little kid who needed Sirius' help.

"Come on, Harry. Let's get you cleaned up." Harry didn't even resist as Sirius took his hand and guided him to the bathroom. "Do you, er, do you need help?" He asked, flipping on the shower nozzle and adjusting the temperature. The ghost of a smile flickered on Harry's face for the first time that night.

"I think I can manage," he said, the corner of his mouth turned barely upward. Sirius was filled with warmth, filled with hope and filled with relief that his godson was okay. He might have been through something terrible, but he was still breathing, and he could still smile.

"I'll get you a towel and some clean clothes." He let the door creak shut and Remus was there in an instant, asking about how he was.

"I don't know, Moony, we didn't really talk so much. Here, you know where the towels are, I'll get him some pajamas." Sirius had to take a set of his and shrink it with a hiss of, "reducio." Once the towel and pajamas were in the bathroom, Sirius and Remus had a chance to breathe.

"So…" Remus started, not quite sure whether they were going to discuss the topic or ignore it until later.

"He's back." Sirius said, deciding to be upfront about it.

"What does this mean, y'know, for us?"

"It means that…" Sirius trailed off. What did it mean? "We're going to have to stick together even stronger now. I'm not losing anyone else," he said, firmly, sounding more confident than he felt, but Remus grabbed his hand, allowing some of the tension in Sirius' shoulders to ease.

"Well, staying close to each other has never been a problem for us, has it? Not even when we're apart." Sirius chuckled.

"No need to get all sappy on me, Moony," he said, looking away. They paused. The shower had stopped.

"I'll go check on Harry," Remus said. He ventured up the stairs, peering into the bathroom. The mirrors were foggy, and Harry's clothes were discarded on the floor, but other than that, the room looked relatively untouched. It was then he heard it - the quiet, stifled sobs coming from Sirius' room.

Nobody had turned the lights on, but Remus could still make out Harry's small form, curled into a ball, held against Sirius' bed frame. Harry's head was on his knees, and he was practically choking on held back tears. Wordlessly, Remus crossed to him and wrapped his arms around the boy. The crying paused before coming back again, full force. Harry was openly sobbing now.

Remus didn't know how long he held Harry, but it must have been a while, because before he knew it, Sirius had come in too, wrapping his arms around both of them. They were huddled together on the floor, like a little family, and in some way, they were. It didn't take long for Harry's sobs to taper out, replaced with shuddering breaths.

They didn't let go of each other, though. They wouldn't. After all, sticking together was what they were best at.


End file.
